


Surditium

by moonstruckfool



Series: Inktober [3]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Autism Spectrum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-09-17 12:49:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16974867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonstruckfool/pseuds/moonstruckfool
Summary: Inktober day 4: Spellsorry this came out in tumblr-post form but i don't have a tumblr so i'm plonking it here





	Surditium

Newt's had meltdowns before, when there were heated arguments in the house or someone cast a particularly noisy spell. But never like this before - why had his parents decided to host a party? - not with so many people and too much, TOO MUCH noise. IT'S TOO LOUD. He covers his ears and tries unsuccessfully to block the noise out, whimpering and whining. No one pays him any heed, not even Theseus, who's across the room talking to two girls he doesn't recognise. He shrieks, and suddenly the room goes quiet - at first, he expects heads to turn and he despairs; has he publicly humiliated himself and his family? Strangely, activity in the house proceeds as it should and he takes his hands off his ears, puzzled. Did no one hear me? And then it dawns on him.   _Why can't I hear anything?_ It occurs to him that he might have somehow rendered himself deaf, which is mildly concerning, but for now, he's just grateful that everything is quiet. He calms down gradually and even works up the courage to mumble an 'excuse me' to a stranger as he grabs a piece of cake from the table. It's only after everyone has left and his mother turns to him to congratulate him on his behaviour that he realises he can hear again.

The next time it's too loud, when he's at the park with Theseus, it happens again and the Muggles don't notice a thing. He pays attention to what he did to silence everyone, and although he can't explain it, he knows how to do it again. Out of curiosity, he asks Theseus if he can hear him. His big brother stares at him incredulously, then replies 'Yes'. To Newt, it looks like Theseus mouthed it, but he knows Theseus made a sound. He just couldn't hear it. 

At Hogwarts, in third year, when they learn the Silencing Spell in Charms, Newt gets excited because _it's the thing I do!_ It's a little different from what he's used to, but he masters it before anyone else anyway. He christens his own spell _Surditium_ \- 'deafness' - and spends his free periods in the Hufflepuff dorm learning to do it with his wand, until he can do it nonverbally and without much concentration. It sees him through the Quidditch matches (when he's spectating; he can't afford to lose his hearing when he's Chasing) and loud parties of the rest of his years at Hogwarts. He learns to lip-read fast, and soon nearly no one can tell he's temporarily deaf.

It is especially useful when the war breaks out; he uses it to eliminate the sounds of gunshots and bombs when it is safe to do so, and he doesn't suffer from shell-shock as much as his fellow soldiers do.

After the war, he eventually learns to cope without it, although he never forgets it. Sometimes, when certain sounds remind him of bad things, he uses it to block them out. Tina knows, and she understands, and she learns to communicate without sound.

And when Rolf is old enough to use a wand, Newt teaches his grandson the spell, hoping that it will help him as much as it did for himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me if I got the sensory overload thing wrong - I don't have any experience with it.


End file.
